No. 13: San Francisco Faves
Plus wise women, true crime, and teen romance
This is my last week living in San Francisco!! We’re moving just across the bridge, and I’ll be commuting into the city three days a week, so it’s not as momentous as it sounds. But still, end of an era! Andrew and I have been reflecting on our 8 years here and trying to hit as many of our favorite spots as we can before we’re no longer residents of this glorious city. 🥲
Rather than share our too-long list of restaurants, I thought I’d share my shortlist of “restaurants+”—that is, a meal and then some. Sorted by neighborhood, several of these outings are great for date night, others make fun daytime hangs with friends.
**If you don’t live in the Bay Area, scroll down for July’s smorgasbord below—it’s a good one!**
Hayes Valley: Dinner at Hazie’s // ice cream at Salt & Straw // a show at SF Ballet
Mission: Matinee at Alamo Drafthouse // drinks at True Laurel // dinner at Penny Roma
Golden Gate Park/Sunset: Pick up a bagel at Schlock’s // play tennis or pickleball at the Goldman Center in GGPark // rent bikes and bike through the park to Ocean Beach // brunch at Outerlands or lunch at Hookfish or din at ThanhLong
Marina: Coffee at the Philz truck // walk along the marina and Crissy Field all the way to the bridge for *~views~* // brunch at Balboa Cafe (incl. a Bloody Mary or Espresso Martini) // browse shops on Chestnut Street, attn: Two Skirts
North Beach: Dinner at China Live // magic show beneath the restaurant // drinks at Devil’s Acre
Cole Valley/Haight-Ashbury: Brunch at Zazie’s // visit The Booksmith and Amoeba Records on Haight St. // visit the De Young Museum
Honorary mentions go to: Shopping on Valencia St. + picnic in Dolores Park with BiRite supplies // Deli Board + SFMOMA
And now for July’s smorgasbord!
📝 Yellowface by R. F. Kuang: By the author of Babel, Yellowface is an incisive and propulsive, dark and twisted literary-fiction-meets-horror novel. White author June Hayward witnesses the death of her frenemy, the highly successful Chinese-American author Athena Liu. June proceeds to steal the draft of Athena’s next book, revise it, and publish it under her own name. Self-deception, anxious spiraling, internet shaming, and general chaos ensue. Ultimately it’s a book about race and racism, the publishing industry, the power of social media, and the stories we tell ourselves. Check it out if you liked Kiley Reid’s Such a Fun Age or Ottessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation.
✍🏼 Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler: This 2013 book was new-to-me, and I packed it for my July 4th trip. An easy, entertaining read that’s also well-researched and well-written, Z traces the life of Zelda Fitzgerald, from her debutante days in Alabama through her whirlwind life and romance with F. Scott Fitzgerald. It’s a lively story that moves from New York to Paris and back again, and I left with a much better understanding of Zelda, who was a force and a talented artist in her own right.
🎧 Wiser Than Me: Julia Louis-Dreyfus interviews women who are older and wiser than her on this delightful and insightful podcast. I haven’t finished listening to all the episodes quite yet, but so far my favorites are her convos with Ruth Reichl and Jane Fonda. I hear the finale with comedian Carol Burnett is hilarious. Excited to listen to them all!
⚕️The Retrievals: Though I generally steer clear of true crime, I think this latest podcast from Serial is a worthwhile listen, as it reveals the tendency of medical professionals to gaslight women and discount their pain. In 2020, over the course of many months, a nurse at the Yale fertility clinic swapped fentanyl for saline solution to feed her drug addiction, meaning patients were undergoing procedures without any pain medication—and no one took their complaints seriously.
☀️ The Summer I Turned Pretty: Let’s end on a lighter note! The first few episodes of the new season of this teen romance show just dropped on Amazon Prime yesterday. Based on the trilogy by Jenny Han (author of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before), it’s a fun, summery romp that I’m looking forward to watching.
See you in two weeks when we’ll chat all about Molly Baz’s Cook This Book, which I’ve been enjoying cooking through (you can follow my kitchen adventures here!).
xo,
Claire